Musk deer
| Musk deer Temporal range: Early Miocene–Recent | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Moschus moschiferus | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Artiodactyla |
| Suborder: | Ruminantia |
| Infraorder: | Pecora |
| Family: | Moschidae (Gray, 1821) |
| Genus: | Moschus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| Species | |
| |
Musk deer can refer to any one of, or all seven species, that make up Moschus, the only genus of the family Moschidae.[1] Musk deer are more primitive than cervids, or true deer, because they lack antlers and facial glands, and possess only a single pair of teats, a gall bladder, a caudal gland, a pair of tusk-like teeth and—of particular economic importance to humans—a musk gland.
Musk deer live mainly in forested and alpine scrub habitats in the mountains of southern Asia, notably the Himalayas. Moschids, the proper term when referring to this type of deer rather than one/multiple species of musk deer, are entirely Asian in their present distribution, being extinct in Europe where the earliest musk deer are known to have existed from Oligocene deposits.
Characteristics
Musk deer resemble small deer with a stocky build, and hind legs longer than their front legs. They are approximately 80 to 100 centimetres (31 to 39 in) long, 50 to 70 centimetres (20 to 28 in) tall at the shoulder, and weigh between 7 and 17 kilograms (15 and 37 lb). The feet of musk deer are adapted for climbing in rough terrain. Like the Chinese water deer, a cervid, they have no antlers, but the males do have enlarged upper canines, forming sabre-like tusks. The dental formula is similar to that of true deer: 0.1.3.33.1.3.3
The musk gland is found only in adult males. It lies in a sac located between the genitals and the umbilicus, and its secretions are most likely used to attract mates.
Musk deer are herbivores, living in hilly, forested environments, generally far from human habitation. Like true deer, they eat mainly leaves, flowers, and grasses, with some mosses and lichens. They are solitary animals, and maintain well-defined territories, which they scent mark with their caudal glands. Musk deer are generally shy, and either nocturnal, or crepuscular.
Males leave their territories during the rutting season, and compete for mates, using their tusks as weapons. Female musk deer give birth to a single fawn after about 150–180 days. The newborn young are very small, and essentially motionless for the first month of their life, a feature that helps them remain hidden from predators.[2]
Musk deers have been hunted for their scent glands, which can fetch up to $45,000/kg on the black market. It is rumored that ancient royalty wore the scent of the musk deer and that it is an aphrodisiac.[3]
Evolution
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Musk deer may be a surviving representative of the Palaeomerycidae, a family of ruminants that is probably ancestral to deer. They originated in the early Oligocene epoch and disappeared in the Pliocene. Most species lacked antlers, though some were found in later species. The musk deer are, however, still placed in a separate family.
Taxonomy
While they have been traditionally classified at members of the deer family (as the subfamily "Moschinae") and all the species were classified as one species (under Moschus moschiferus), recent studies indicated that moschids are more closely related to bovids (antelope and oxen).[4] The following taxonomy is after Prothero (2007)[5]
Moschidae
- Hydropotopsis
- Hydropotopsis lemanensis
- Hispanomeryx
- Hispanomeryx aragonensis
- Hispanomeryx daamsi
- Hispanomeryx duriensis
- Hispanomeryx andrewsi
- Oriomeryx
- Oriomeryx major
- Oriomeryx willii
- Friburgomeryx
- Friburgomeryx wallenriedensis
- Bedenomeryx
- Bedenomeryx truyolsi
- Bedenomeryx milloquensis
- Bedenomeryx paulhiacensis
- Dremotheriinae
- Pomelomeryx
- Pomelomeryx boulangeri
- Pomelomeryx gracilis
- Dremotherium
- Dremotherium cetinensis
- Dremotherium guthi
- Dremotherium quercyi
- Dremotherium feignouxi
- Pomelomeryx
- Blastomerycinae
- Pseudoblastomeryx
- Pseudoblastomeryx advena
- Machaeromeryx
- Machaeromeryx tragulus
- Longirostromeryx
- Longirostromeryx clarendonensis
- Longirostromeryx wellsi
- Problastomeryx
- Problastomeryx primus
- Parablastomeryx
- Parablastomeryx floridanus
- Parablastomeryx gregorii
- Blastomeryx
- Blastomeryx gemmifer
- Pseudoblastomeryx
- Moschinae
- Micromeryx
- Micromeryx styriacus
- Micromeryx flourensianus
- Moschus
- Moschus moschiferus
- Moschus anhuiensis
- Moschus berezovskii
- Moschus fuscus
- Moschus chrysogaster
- Moschus cupreus
- Moschus leucogaster
- Micromeryx
References
- ↑ University of Michigan Museum of Zoology - Animal Diversity Web - Moschus (musk deer) Classification http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Moschus.html#Moschus
- ↑ Frädrich, Hans (1984). Macdonald, D., ed. The Encyclopedia of Mammals. New York: Facts on File. pp. 518–9. ISBN 0-87196-871-1.
- ↑ Wild Russia, Discovery Channel
- ↑ Molecular and Morphological Phylogenies of Ruminantia and the Alternative Position of the Moschidae http://www.isem.cnrs.fr/IMG/pdf/Hassanin_2003-SystBiol.pdf
- ↑ Prothero, 2007 (p. 221-226)
External links
- Guha S, Goyal SP, Kashyap VK (March 2007). "Molecular phylogeny of musk deer: a genomic view with mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cytochrome b gene". Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 42 (3): 585–97. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2006.06.020. PMID 17158073.
- Hassanin A, Douzery EJ (April 2003). "Molecular and morphological phylogenies of ruminantia and the alternative position of the moschidae". Syst. Biol. 52 (2): 206–28. doi:10.1080/10635150390192726. PMID 12746147.